Latheefa Ahmed Verall is former President Mohamed Nasheed’s maternal aunt
I was twenty-eight when Maumoon Abdul Gayoom became the president of the Maldives. President Nasir had been demonised and vilified, and a saviour, like a shining beacon of virtue from the deep, ancient bowels of Al- Azhar had appeared. He came in trailing clouds of glory that was Islamic scholarship. I was simply bowled over – to use a phrase that he and I probably share as lovers of cricket!
The year 1978 was an auspicious year for us both. I was expecting my first child; he was starting on his life’s work as the longest ruling dictator of Asia. Our paths never crossed of course because he was in the business of silencing public dissent in a frenzy of torture and authoritarian heavy handedness, while miles away in New Zealand, I was in the business of teaching my students and eventually my own children, the importance of asking the question ‘why’.
I want to talk to you, the readers of this website and also to others in our extremely divided nation, so that you may open your minds enough to listen to the reason why we must never, never give up striving for our rights. Get over the fact that I am [former President Mohamed] Nasheed’s aunt, get over the fact I live over eleven thousand kilometres away. I am 65 years old and smart enough to separate what I want for my nephew and what I want for my country. They are two different things. This is for my country.
For those people who question my right to voice these concerns, I have this to say. My generation in the Maldives had no voice. We did not have the know-how or the belief that we could stand up to what was unfair, corrupt or unjust. Most of us, particularly women, believed that life was about accepting the status quo, being obedient, humble and respectful towards authority and power. That was the world-view we held and we strived to live ’good’ lives within it. We forgot to ask the question why things were the way they were.
When I saw the pictures of Evan Naseem, his dead body beaten and bruised, his hair matted in his own blood, I realised this was an atrocity that had been years in the making. This lack of respect for human life and dignity had its roots years before 2003. My generation had allowed the regime to come to that point of inhumanity because of our impotency and lack of action. I wept as the words, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,” resonated in me. I have never forgotten their significance.
Our impotency came in many guises: we thought bowing down to authority, however unfair, was part of our heritage, we thought it was what our religion demanded of us, we assumed that deference was owed to a ruler simply because he was the ruler and finally we feared that the regime was too powerful to be affected by our concerns.
Today, the imprisonment of Nasheed and the unleashing of the regime’s vendetta on any who disagreed with their Grand Design, are natural progressions for a group of people who had always dealt with problems in a predictable and unimaginative way. They have no answers other than sheer brutality. But now, we the people, no longer find this acceptable. We are no longer prepared to consider it the norm. Those early activists and opposition supporters have helped liberate us all. And all of us working together have finally brought the eyes of the world on the Yameen/Maumoon regime.
[President Abdulla] Yameen, with the same lack of imagination, is following in his brother’s footsteps, and the prisons are once again filling up with their opponents. The events of the last few months scream out the desperation of a group that has once again run out of options: an ex-president jailed by a regime-controlled judiciary who, because of their incompetence and the political pressure of their masters, turned Nasheed’s trial into a farce, a defence minister sentenced for terrorism because of insurmountable differences and divisions in their own dog eat dog cabinet, a predictable falling out with their rich coalition partner who facilitated the regime’s return to power and is currently kept impotent by the threat of financial ruin and finally the country spurned by all freedom loving citizens of the world. Their solution: to move towards a state of emergency because they cannot control the citizenry other than by force.
This mounting opposition to the regime makes it abundantly clear that this is not Nasheed’s fight alone. He is not the only one to suffer brutality and injustice. Under this regime, to various degrees, we have all been within prison walls and we have all suffered from huge injustices. And our fathers, mothers, brothers, uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews and friends have been affected by this cancer that has destroyed the very soul of the country which we hold dear to our hearts.
I am a student of history and I know that in any great struggle between the forces of tradition and modernity or the rights and wellbeing of all people and the greed of the few, the hardest time is when we feel that fortune has taken a dramatic turn for the worse. With Nasheed in prison, the regime in control of the judiciary so that they can dish out their malice willy-nilly, and the police high on testosterone, it may appear that our objectives are all but unattainable.
But life’s great lesson is that this is exactly the time for us to view our achievements and persevere in the face of adversity. The darkest time is always before the dawn. This is the time to have faith in our ability and not give up. This is the time to increase our resolve, increase our determination and increase our action.
Why?
Unlike my generation, today’s Maldivians are not incapacitated by years of tradition and social isolation. The question ‘why’ has been asked. People have dared. And more than that, we have several leaders in prison and this may well be a positive turning point, as for the first time, the eyes of the world are turned on the Maldives as never before. The time is ripe for our action, to actively insist that we do not want a future of brutality and suppression.
The regime believes that by imprisoning Nasheed and other leaders they can curb the move towards democracy and return to the good old days of untrammelled power. But these arrests give all of us the unheralded power to break this regime. We can prove them wrong. They can continue to imprison people, but they cannot suppress an idea. They cannot imprison or beat an ideal.
The time to unhinge this crumbling, ancient relic of a regime is now. This is our time to act.
All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to editorial@minivannewsarchive.com.
As news of socio-political turmoil forces the world to shift its eyes away from the pristine beaches of its beautiful tropical islands, Maldives is losing its untainted image as a luxury tourist destination with more exposure of its appalling track record on human rights. This article looks closely at the lack of both compassion and adequate law enforcement in the Maldivian society’s (mis)treatment of the South Asian expatriate community. It highlights not just the plight of the many Bangladeshi labourers but also the increasing number of South Asian women who are becoming victims of the corrupt and prejudiced criminal justice system of the country.
In addition to the Maldivian population of approximately 330,000, there are 200,000 expatriate workers living in the country, of which a quarter does not have legal status in the country. The Maldives’ treatment of migrant workers is degrading enough for it to be called ‘modern-day slavery.’ The trade generates over US$ 123 million in illegal profits in the Maldives. Last week two Bangladeshi workers, Shaheen Mia and Kazi Bilal were brutally killed bringing to the fore, in tragic circumstances, the unheard voice of the subaltern in today’s Maldivian society.
The government on 25 March banned a planned protest against the deplorable treatment faced by expatriate workers. The protest was planned to highlight the resurgence in violent crime against the South Asian workers. The government of current President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s brother; Asia’s longest serving leader until August 2008, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, also criminalised a planned protest following similar racially motivated assaults in August 2007, threatening expatriates with deportation.
In addition to silencing their voices and denying them agency, the criminal justice system, primarily the Criminal Court and law enforcement authorities perpetuate injustices against the marginalised. The violation of their fundamental rights is facilitated through certain judicial actors who are untrained, uneducated and corrupt. These judges do not pay any attention to the Constitution or domestic laws or international legal instruments the Maldives has ratified. Increasingly women are becoming victims of the system.
Malékalyanam: buying brides
Rubeena Buruhanuddeen
An Indian woman was arrested night before last on allegations of infanticide and attempted suicide, raising concerns that she could be subject to the same judicial torture as Rubeena Buruhanudeen who was kept under pre-trial detention for over four years. The New Indian Express reported that Rubeena was part of a procedure known in India as ‘Malékalyanam’ in which impoverished girls from the Indian state of Kerala are married off to Maldivian men. Rubeena, married off to a Maldivian man under this procedure, ended up in pre-trial detention in the Maldives for over four years, accused of killing the child she had with her Maldivian husband.
Fareesha Abdulla, a Maldivian lawyer who took the case in 2012 on a pro-bono basis, emphasised that the investigation and remand hearings were not conducted with interpreters. “She [Rubeena] can’t understand Dhivehi, but the entire investigation was carried out without an interpreter. Maldives’ police wrote down a statement in Dhivehi and she signed it,” said the defence lawyer. “Infanticide is a serious allegation but when she requested legal aid before I took on the case, the Attorney General denied it,” Fareesha Abdulla explained further.
Before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power, the Manmohan Singh government’s Minister for External Affairs also urged Maldives to repatriate such detainees. Modi was scheduled to visit the Maldives last month but with international concerns growing over the arrest of former President Mohamed Nasheed on 23 February 2015, took the Maldives off his tour of Indian Ocean island nations. Soon after the diplomatic brushoff, Rubeena was repatriated to India in early March.
Aminath Zara, a Nepalese woman who was fighting for custody of her child with a Maldivian succeeded only after a yearlong legal battle at the Family Court. Zara arrived in the Maldives initially in October 2009 as Tasi Telisa to work at a beauty salon as a beauty therapist. She converted to Islam in 2010. She then left the country in September 2011 and returned after marrying a Maldivian in Sri Lanka in December 2011. When the baby was three, her husband demanded Zara to go back to work; she was the sole breadwinner at times. According to Zara, the marriage came to an end due to her husband’s infidelity while she was away working.
The couple filed for a divorce at the Guraidhoo Magistrate Court in September 2013, but the proceedings and documents were all in Dhivehi, and an interpreter was not offered. The magistrate decided “disobedience” by the wife was sufficient grounds for divorce. As a result Zara became a homeless – and soon to be illegal – single mother. She filed a complaint at the Gender Ministry because her ex-husband was threatening to deport her and gain full custody of the baby. A Maldivian lawyer, Lua Shaheer, who was providing pro-bono legal assistance, said that Zara’s husband repeatedly told her “you are a foreigner, you will have no choice but to leave this country without the child.”
The Gender Ministry provided Zara with temporary accommodation for three months. At the end of the three months she moved back to the island of Guradhoo but could not stand the abuse she was subjected to. With nowhere to live, her former lawyer Lua Shaheer took Zara in to her own home. She is now represented by another lawyer, Fathmath Sama, whose firm took the case on pro-bono.
The husband was represented by Ibrahim Riza, an MP for Gayoom’s Progressive Party of Maldives. The main argument in court was that “the mother is a Buddhist, the mother’s family is Buddhist, and the child would be deprived of a Muslim upbringing.” Zara’s husband also accused her of “abandoning the baby for monetary greed.” Shaheer testified in court that Zara is a practicing Muslim. Even though Zara won custody, the verdict states she cannot leave the country without the ex-husband’s permission if she decides to leave with the baby, effectively leaving her stranded in the Maldives without a place to live.
According to the Indian High Commission in the Maldives, an Indian woman named Manyama Orsu was charged with pre-marital sex and abortion. According to the new penal code, abortions after 120 days of pregnancy are illegal, but a pregnancy caused by rape is an exception to the 120-day rule. Orsu was charged before the new penal code came into effect. The court proceedings against her went on for two and a half years. She confessed to the first charge, and the State dropped abortion charges bringing an end to her arbitrary detention, facilitating her repatriation in late March this year.
There are also reports of other foreign women held at Dhoonidhoo Island Detention Centre on allegations of prostitution, abortion and drug trafficking. Some of these women are victims of sex trafficking and trafficking in persons. But without a systematic mechanism to identify victims, or the mentality to view such individuals as victims, Maldives’ authorities exacerbate psychological and physical trauma suffered by human trafficking victims.
Two foreign women identified by police as sex trafficking victims in 2008 were provided temporary shelter before being repatriated with the help of their home country’s diplomatic mission in the capital Malé. Due to the lack of investigative infrastructure based on the problem of Trafficking in Persons, nobody was prosecuted for the crime, and the case was dropped due to “lack of evidence.”
Lack of infrastructure & lack of will
There are other instances where lack of legislation, and lack of enforcement, have hindered any efforts to tackle the problem. In 2009, a Bangladeshi man was chained inside a small room for weeks; the chains were removed only when the man was put to work. The employer was released after merely four months’ imprisonment due to lack of anti-trafficking legislation at the time.
The Maldives’ government passed anti-trafficking legislation only in 2013, motivated only by the fear of threatened international sanctions. The Bill had been in Majlis since 2011. However, expatriate workers from South Asian countries continue to be victimized under forced labour conditions notwithstanding the legislation. The US State Department’s Report on Trafficking in Persons states that ‘the [Maldivian] government does not have procedures in place to identify victims of human trafficking.’ As a result trafficked persons are further victimized by the corrupt criminal justice system. At the same time, the legal system remains highly inaccessible to foreigners, especially in relation to criminal law.
Transparency International’s local chapter provided over 560 expatriate workers with legal aid in 2014, mostly with regard to cases that consist of forced labour indicators. ‘We believe that migrant workers are the most vulnerable community in the Maldives today, they do not have access to the legal system due to the language barrier,’ Transparency Maldives’ Senior Project Coordinator for its Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre, Ahid Rasheed, has said.
‘Maldivian society in general views Bangladeshi expatriates as lower class non-citizens; harassment against them has been completely normalized. The authorities view them as the problem and not victims of discriminatory attacks and human trafficking offences.’ Highlighting a history of institutionalised xenophobia, Rasheed said ‘the latest word from the government we heard – regarding the protest – questions basic rights afforded to migrant workers, similar to how all previous governments neglected migrant workers’ grievances.’
The Maldives enacted the Employment Act in 2008, and as a Member State of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Act harmonises domestic law of the Maldives with the principles and standards prescribed by the organisation. Independent institutions such as the Employment Tribunal and Labour Relations Authority were established through this Act. ‘Forced labour’ is prohibited and broadly defined to be any instance where there are elements of undue influence, threat, or intimidation with regards to employment. The Act also addresses discrimination at the work place and ensures both local and foreign employees right to freedom from discrimination based on race, religion, social standing, political beliefs, marital status, gender, or family obligations.
It is a common misconception that ‘human trafficking’ or ‘trafficking in persons’ requires illegal entry, similar to ‘human smuggling.’ Human trafficking sometimes begins as smuggling, can end up as exploitation and trafficking, but not all trafficking involves crossing-borders.The United Nations (UN) defines ‘trafficking in persons’ as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation or the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution was ratified by the Maldives in May 2003; a legal instrument recognizing the importance of establishing effective regional cooperation for preventing trafficking for prostitution and for investigation, detection, interdiction, prosecution, and punishment of those responsible for such trafficking.
The ILO defines the following as elements of forced labour: withholding payment and identity documents; abusive working and living conditions; debt bondage; restriction of movement; excessive overtime; deception; isolation; physical and sexual violence; and intimidation and threats. All of which are daily grievances faced by most low-skilled expatriate workers in the Maldives.
A report by the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) in February 2009[8] states that Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan and Indian nationals are detained at the Malé Immigration Detention Center, managed by the Expatriate Monitoring Center under the Department of Immigration and Emigration. Ordinarily detained for not holding a valid passport, visa or work permit. HRCM urged the Maldives to become a member of the International Convention on the Rights of All Migrant Workers (ICRMW). The national human rights committee’s report recommended development and implementation of systematic procedures for government officials to identify victims of trafficking among vulnerable groups such as undocumented migrants and women in prostitution, who are human trafficking victims. It also urged identified victims of trafficking to be provided necessary assistance and not be penalized for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of them being trafficked.
The US State Department has consistently raised the issue of increasing debt bondage among South Asian migrant workers under its annual Trafficking in Persons report. According to its most recent report, migrant workers pay agents around US$2,000-4,000 to work in the Maldives. There have been reports that some of the 200 registered agents bring migrant workers to the Maldives under terms of employment that amount to criminal acts of deception or fraud, entangling employees in a vicious cycle of debt. The report also recommends that Maldives accede to the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons.
The government has failed at implementing enacted laws, and it appears to be using the rise in violent crime to militarize the police service, and enact legislations that strip away the protections, freedoms and liberties enshrined under the Constitution that introduced democratization to the Maldives. As the focus remains on suppressing dissent from citizens who oppose the regime, the plight of the subaltern stays at the political periphery. The Maldives has yet to fulfill the minimum standards required to eliminate human trafficking.
Human trafficking victims are regularly penalized for acts that are the result of being trafficked; excluded from the legal system; and viewed as offenders. Maldivian authorities are known to detain such victims under inhumane conditions. The real perpetrators of trafficking such as employers, officials, recruitment agents or firms are rarely brought to justice, giving full impunity to these powerful offenders who have connections to transnational organized crime. The insularity observed among majority of Maldivians is reinforced on an institutional level by denying inalienable rights that are to be afforded to all citizens and non-citizens indiscriminately. Sex trafficking, forced labour, debt bondage and other forms of exploitation do not end with enacting legislations or acceding to treaties in order to be accepted as a member of the international community. A stipulation under law is only powerful to the extent to which it is realized, and for the subaltern – without the qualification to even speak – those rights are continually denied.
Mushfique Mohamed is a practising lawyer at Hisaan, Riffath & Co., and also works as a consultant for Maldivian Democracy Network.
All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to editorial@minivannewsarchive.com.
Dozens of tourists are stranded each year in the Maldives by scams involving liveaboards, harming the country’s reputation among visitors, boat owners say.
Scammers use fraudulent websites to collect payments on liveaboards without the owner’s knowledge, leaving tourists stranded at the airport.
Others sell holidays on luxury cruisers, but when tourists arrive in the Maldives, transfer them to low-grade boats.
Boat owners are speaking out about the problem for the first time, saying they decided to do so out of frustration over a lack of action against the fraudsters.
Some 81 liveaboards — boats on which tourists stay for several nights, also known as safari boats — operate in the Maldives, offering surfing and diving trips, some with luxury accommodation.
A safari boat owner, who asked not to be named, said an Indian dive tour operator alerted him on March 19 to a Maldivian company selling a holiday on his boat without his knowledge.
He told Minivan News the government has failed to take action on scammers.
“This is very destructive and tarnishes the Maldives’ image,” he said, calling on the ministry to suspend licenses and blacklist fraudulent tour operators.
Amir Mansoor, the owner of the luxury liveaboard Carpe Diem, also said that liveaboard scams are frequent.
“This is very concerning, even if it’s two or fifty tourists a year, and affects the Maldives’ image,” he said.
Deputy tourism minister Hussain Lirar, however, denied any knowledge of fraud, but said the government would take action through law enforcement agencies against scammers.
The anonymous liveaboard owner said that at least 88 Russian and German tourists were stranded in November 2013 after a scam, and said he had rescued some tourists from the group.
The Liveaboard Association of Maldives (LAM) this week said it had received complaints from foreign tour operators, mostly in India and Hong Kong, involving fake bookings and operators collecting payments without offering a service.
“The scams involve fraudulent websites claiming to be authorized travel agents offering cheap liveaboards,” the organization said, following the March 19 alert from the Indian tour operator.
In the email obtained by Minivan News, the Indian company said it had been saved from fraud by its contacts in the Maldives and urged LAM to take action to ensure “those advertising as Maldivian agents do not defraud gullible tourists.”
LAM subsequently advised holidaymakers and tour operators to be wary of rock bottom prices in the Maldives and to book through agents listed on its website or reputable travel companies listed by the Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators.
There are currently 1,367 beds available on safari boats in the Maldives, often costing hundreds of dollars a night.
A Hong Kong-based tour operator, which says it sends 2000 guests to the Maldives every year, said a tour operator called Poseidon Tours in 2012 stranded several guests “desperately in Malé without any excuse,” according to leaked emails.
Although the tourism ministry denied knowledge of scams, the emails show the operator wrote to the ministry and LAM throughout 2012 and 2013 asking them to penalise the scammer. The company threatened to go public with the scandal and asked for a response “before I do something that might hurt all of us.”
“It was the not the first case to our company and on and off we heard that other agents/guests were having similar experiences. I don’t think that this is a good reputation to your country,” the operator said.
The operator reimbursed its clients, but Minivan News was unable to confirm whether the government had taken action against Poseidon Tours.
Most Maldivians are worried that MPs frequently switch parties in parliament because of corruption, a survey has found.
Eighty percent of people see party switching as connected to corruption, a report from Transparency Maldives indicates, showing that floor crossing is perceived to have a negative impact.
Another survey by Transparency last year showed that Maldivians had low levels of confidence in parliament.
In the latest survey, eighty-four percent of respondents said they believe floor crossing happens because money or some sort of gain is offered to parliamentarians in exchange for voting against their own party line or defecting.
Eighty-seven per cent of respondents believe there should be laws that prevent or restrict switching.
Transparency Maldives said that forcing MPs to reveal detailed financial holdings would help.
“The most necessary option is to implement a correct method of asset declaration, not just for the sake of it but in a manner involving detailed financial statements,” Thoriq Hamid, programme manager at Transparency, told reporters.
“There should also be vetting mechanisms for these statements. That is the role of Maldivian institutions like the anti-corruption commission and possibly the auditor general.”
Eighty-one percent said that floor crossing can undermine democracy and weaken the party system.
Transparency will share the report with parliamentarians and other institutions.
Floor crossing is a common occurrence in the Parliament of the Maldives.
The former MP for Feydhoo , Alhan Fahmy, was initially elected as a Dhivehi Rayyinthunge’ Party (DRP) candidate but he switched to the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). Later on he left them to join the Jumhooree Party (JP) and then again left the JP to rejoin the MDP.
Another such case is Abdulla Abdul Raheem. The MP who has changed parties the most, he was also elected as DRP candidate and left them to join the MDP. However, he again went back to the DRP within 24 hours. In 2012, he made another switch, this time to the JP, and then again signed to the MDP the very next year. He was expelled from the MDP in December 2013.
The ruling Progressive Party of Maldives came to power last year with 33 MPs but another 10 joined them from other parties within four months.
These individuals have not been specifically accused of corruption, but they are among many MPs to have switched parties.
Transparency Maldives interviewed 200 randomly selected Maldivians for the survey.
Businesses in two atolls have warned of retail prices skyrocketing after government electricity subsidy cuts took effect this month, and called for the policy to be reversed.
Companies will no longer receive government subsidies for electricity from March onwards, while domestic households must reapply for subsidies before 9 April.
Businesses in Haa Dhaal atoll Kulhudhufushi and Gaaf Dhaal atoll Thinadhoo, which act as business hubs for their surrounding atolls have created steering committees to negotiate with the government to reinstate subsidies.
“Prices will go up 50 percent in Kulhudufushi and nearby atolls. Businesses will close and ultimately it is the public that will suffer,” said Adam Shareef, a local businessman and steering committee member for businesses in Kulhuduhfushi.
The steering committees for businesses in Kulhuduhfushi and Thinadhoo also raised concerns over the differences in electricity prices between Male’ City and the atolls.
“There is a vast difference between prices of electricity in Male’ City, southern atolls and the northern atolls. If the government doesn’t reinstate subsidies for businesses we believe it is discrimination towards us,” Adam said.
Electricity prices are up to 72 percent higher in Haa Alif , Haa Dhaal, and Shaviyani atoll and up to 37 percent higher in Addu City and Fuvahmulaku than in Male’ City, according to figures from Fenaka Corporation, which provides electricity for most islands in the Maldives.
Electricity bills for the month of March have already arrived, with some local shops reporting a bill 129 per cent higher than before.
The steering committee for businesses in Thinadhoo met today and has decided to try and negotiate a “fair price” for electricity in the atolls, or a return of subsidies.
“As this is a matter related to the public, the Council of Thinadhoo will abide and help the steering committee in negotiating with the government,” said Thinadhoo Council member Saudh Ali.
The National Social Protection Agency (NSPA) , which determines who receives subsidies, had not yet responded to queries on its response at the time of going to press.
Meanwhile the Kulhuduhfushi steering committee has already sent letters to the President’s Office, Fenaka Corporation and NSPA.
Members of the Kulhuduhfushi steering committee have been receiving threatening messages to their mobile phones since the letters were sent. Adam Shareef said the letters sent by the committee included full names and mobile phone numbers of committee members.
“We demand that you stop creating conflict between the lawful government and its people disguised in the name of getting subsidies,” said the text messages forwarded by a member of the committee to Minivan News.
President Abdulla Yameen said last year at an event by Fenaka Corporation that his administration would not discriminate between the people of the atolls and the capital city.
“I’ve recently come across news media trying to prove that we differentiate or discriminate the atolls compared to the Capital. I would say such claims hold no value and such work is based on empty grounds,” he said.
The previous Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) government changed the system of electricity subsidies so that they are allotted to individual households and businesses. Earlier, the state had subsidised Stelco, a state-run electricity company that serves the capital.
A movement representing Maldivian youth has raised the alarm over a lack of arts and creative opportunities after the government cancelled plans for Earth Hour celebrations.
“Without proper preventive measures, we would see a decline in creativity and expression, as well as freedom of assembly and celebration of global causes,” Dhi Youth Movement, a non-governmental organisation, said in a statement.
Young Maldivians had planned to mark Earth Hour, an annual environmental campaign, with a music show and other celebrations in Male’ on Saturday but the government banned the events on security grounds after a spate of stabbings in the capital.
“We would also like to express our disappointment with government’s decision to cancel the Earth Hour celebrations on perceived potential security concerns,” said DYM.
Despite the ban, a 29-year-old man died after being stabbed outside the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, one of the busiest hospitals in the city, on Saturday night, in the fourth murder so far this year. No one has so far been arrested over the crime.
“As witnessed by last night’s crime, we have reconfirmed that crime happens regardless of whether or not the lights are on, even in front of police stations and hospitals,” DYM said.
People who had planned to attend the celebrations expressed their discontent online.
“Yesterday, government stopped a bunch of people from making a prayer for President Nasheed after the Friday congregational prayer. Today it prohibited holding Earth Hour events for ‘security reasons’. Tomorrow it’ll ban funerals,” one said.
Another commented: “Security concerns regarding violent crimes during the day time has led to the Home Ministry issuing a statement to enforce planetary laws to turn off the sun at 10am.”
A youth leader wrote: “This much crime in such a small place, is scary, but the only security threat I see is the fact that no proper proactive measures are being taken to combat them.”
Earth Hour is hosted by Earth Hour Maldives collaborating with Scouts Association of Maldives, who outsourced the event to Empire Events, a recently established event management company. Lights are traditionally turned off for Earth Hour, while those taking part celebrate by candlelight.
Despite the event’s official cancellation, some members of the public decided to celebrate anyway.
Concerned youth and artists turned up to enjoy the hour outdoors, while children drew in chalk in a co-ordinated event at the helipad.
Young people lit candles reading “60+”, which stands for the 60 minutes of the Earth Hour.
DYM said that a fall in numbers of students enrolling in the arts stream — students can choose between arts, business and science streams aged 13 or 14 — was a sign of the declining position of arts and creativity. They called for a community where expression and art can thrive, without it involving “knives and crime”.
The group called for the government and authorities to do their best to address the root causes of the current gang violence so that temporary curfews can be lifted.
However, Dhi Youth Movement also noted that they had not been consulted on policy level discussions about youth by government bodies, and said they hoped the government would consult civil society more in decision making.
The following article is by Paulo Casaca, the Executive Director of the South Asia Democratic Forum (SADF).
Many Europeans flock to the beautiful Islands of the Maldives to spend their honeymoon, discover the amazing scuba diving possibilities, and walk in pure sandy beaches and to enjoy the warm hospitality of people of the island state. The Maldives is often referred to as Paradise on earth. Today, this statement could not be further from the truth. Many visitors are unaware of the political and constitutional turmoil, the increasing danger posed by fundamentalists, the inefficient and politicized judiciary, and the erosion of human rights and democratic principles. They are neatly tucked away on island resorts, while Malé is once again prone to turn into a battleground.
The 30 year long authoritarian era of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who ruled the country from 1978 to 2008, formally came to an end seven years ago, but the reality on the ground is different. Gayoom has managed to keep a firm grip on power through old friends, family members and beneficiaries.
When Mohamed Nasheed, a long time democracy campaigner won the country’s first multi-party elections in 2008, there was hope the longest reigning autocracy in South Asia would come to an end. Nasheed was able to initiate first steps in democratizing the island state, but his efforts were blocked by a destructive opposition that continued to act ewithin the same obstructive and totalitarian logic of the past. The 2012 coup d’état that ousted Nasheed from power, half-way through his term, showed that the forces of oppression had not been silenced and were still alive and kicking.
The dysfunctional state of democracy, especially with regards to the judiciary, became blatantly evident in the recent terrorism charges and sentencing of Nasheed through what can only be described as a “show trial.” The fact that judges presiding over the trial had acted as prosecution’s witnesses says it all. Not only are judged politicised, biased, and negligent of the constitution, they also lack professional education and training. In May 2013, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judged and Lawyers Gabriela Knaul described the Maldivian Justice system as a “system in crisis” and expressed great concern over political bias and low qualifications. Nothing has changed in the past two years.
And nothing will change, if the international community shies away from robust measures. In 2004, the EU’s threatened sanctions on the Maldives in the wake of human rights abuses and totalitarian governance void of any democratic principles. Only then did the regime, under the auspices of supranational bodies, start changing its atrocious behaviour towards its own people. Only when the party cadre was affected personally, did they slowly and unwillingly soften their chocking grip on civil society and the hope of freedom.
Issuing statements is a good and necessary first step. It creates awareness, and generates and increases the interest of the public. But it is not enough.
If democracy wants to have a chance in the Maldives, the international community must help pro-democratic forces. Roughly a decade after the first wave of sanctions, the EU especially, has to consider imposing them again. Freezing foreign assets and all non-humanitarian aid as well as issuing travel bans are efficient tools in this regard.
There is a old Maldivian proverb, Furifá huri badiyale gudu gude naalhaane (roughly translated from Divehi: “The water pot that is full will not shake”). Under Nasheed, water was poured into the water pot, but it trickled away due to existing holes and new holes added by the then-opposition. Now the vessel is on the brink of being completely emptied. The EU and other supranational institutions should play their role in preventing the water from being absorbed by the authoritarian modus operandi.
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